AMD Phenom x3 8550 vs Intel Core Q6600?

am10159

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Which processor is better, AMD Phenom x3 8550 vs Intel Core Q6600?

Phenom is 2.2GHz, and Triple core
Q6600 is 2.4GHz and Quad core

I currently have the Phenom, but I found someone selling the Intel core and other parts for pretty cheap. Just wondering if it is an upgrade or not. He is selling a motherboard and RAM that works with the intel CPU.

I will be using it for gaming, mostly Starcraft 2. My Phenom just isn't cutting it for that game. It bottlenecks my Radeon HD 6570 so I can't get higher than medium graphics.
 

Pailin

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I cannot speak directly for the Phenom...

But I can tell you that the Q6600 feels really lacking to me at stock (2.4GHz) speed...
once OC'd to 3GHz + it is a lovely chip, that extra 600MHz makes All the Difference

I would imagine if you can OC that Phenom it would feel like Such a nice upgrade
 
I have to be honest. i had to look up the 8550 because i didn't recall ever hearing that before.

the 6600 is a bit faster....... maybe 2 generations......... but unless everything works good and it's cheap enough i'd hang on to my money and buy better when i could.

the big problem.......... not saying your processor doesn't suck, is that video card. not much of a gamer.

( having said this........ there is a big difference in core processors over the older phenoms )
 

am10159

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the guy who is selling the intel core is also selling a nVidia 260 GTX. Is it better than my current video card? Also which processor would you recommend, rather than the q6600?
 

Pailin

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Will be a nice upgrade for the price I think, the 260 GTX is also a good improvement over your current GFx card

once you sell what you have - this step up will not have cost you all that much :)
 

am10159

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I don't plan on selling the stuff I have. probably just setting up a new computer, taking some of the good stuff out of this one, and putting the original parts back in. I might just get the video card by itself... do you think he will sell it to me for $40 bucks?
 

Pailin

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it sounds like he wants to sell it as a job lot for ease and fast cash, could offer him though...

on ebay UK that setup without the GFx card would fairly easily sell for that price, is a fair deal either way
 

Pailin

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Oh Good morning already,

I have not come across a Q6600 that will not reach 3GHz - from this speed up it becomes a lovely chip (runs pretty cool at this Speed - sometimes attainable at stock volts or even less if a great chip)

I would aim for about 3.3GHz I would expect you can make that ok with a little extra vcore maybe - possibly on 1.33v

An OC of this amount should not create any real heat issues with the aftermarket cooler (do let us know which and also which Motherboard you get) and some decent airflow through your case.

At these speeds and volts even folding@home 24/7 I could run all my fans on minimum speed - like this according to coretemp the hottest core made 77c, on a warm day, which is fine for this chip
...some would rather turn fans up and have more noise, but is a matter of choice really

My chip last night just completed 14 hours of Prime95 blend testing @ 3.51GHz with 1.392vcore - as displayed in CPU-Z (1.4set in BIOS)

To be sure of a stable OC I would recommend running Prime95 blend tests, but also using the PC at the same time and playing music - Yesterday the OC only seemed to trip up on the playing music subsystems after 1 to 2 hours - without the music playing I would have thought my OC was stable and maybe had worse problems later somewhere... (Prime95 showed no errors during any of the testing - but stressed the system enough to cause errors to surface elsewhere) a little more vcore and is sound now ;)

Have fun and Good Luck ^^